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For the past several decades, much of the computer revolution has aimed to link every machine to every other machine in one big harmonic convergence called the Internet. That trend is coming to an end -- at least in the emerging world of what are being called beacons. Instead of trying to reach everyone in the galaxy, beacon builders want to reach only the right people who are within a few meters of their transmitting devices.

In essence, beacon technology inverts the power of a network, with a more forceful connection to place. In the view of Google, one of the proponents of beacons, it's creating “proximity experiences” or a “strong context signal.”